A few ways to stay active these days

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First, I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Thank you to all the courageous medical professionals out there, and all the workers that are staffing our grocery stores, pharmacies, and anywhere else that keeps the world functioning right now. 

Probably like most of you, I'm spending almost all of my time at home, which means, I'm moving far less than I was when I had a daily commute. Also, NY (where I live) has mandated the closure of all gyms. That's a powerful 1-2 combo that could really disrupt anyone's fitness.

This post is broken up into three sections: home exercises, my regimen, and timing.

Home exercises

Here are a few exercises that I can do at home, without a gym.

My warm up

I do this every morning. It's an extended version of my dad back "treatment."

• stand as tall as I can and reach for the sky

• lean to the left, lean to the right

• a deep squat

• downward facing dog

• upward facing dog

• child's pose

• walk myself up from child's pose, reach for my toes

• stand back up, gently push my hips to slight extension

I hold each of these positions for about 30 seconds. You can do all of this without any equipment. If you have a foam roller, I highly recommend using that on your legs, glutes, and middle-upper back region. I spend even more time sitting these days, and I like using the foam roller on these areas to loosen things up.

Upper body

• pushups

• planks

• situps

• reverse planks

Some people might prefer to “scale” their pushups by doing them on a kitchen counter or something elevated. I also do my reverse planks against a wall, which is a lot easier than doing them on the floor.

If you have the equipment:

• pull-ups

• any form of rows

• standing dumbbell flies'

• presses

Lower body

• squats

• lunges

• calf raises

• adductor and abductor raises

For extra balance, you could do your squat underneath a doorframe, and grab ahold of the molding. Careful with the lunges! You don’t want to bang your knee on the floor.

Cardio

• shadow box

• jumping jacks

• run (I usually run once per weekend)

My regimen

My usual routine is 3-4 days at home, and then Saturday and Sunday at the gym. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to be repeating that 3-4 day schedule. I generally vary the number of sets and reps per set depending on how I feel each day. I'll do the warmup, then the workouts as described below, and cool down with some version of the original warmup. 

Here's the basic setup.

Day 1 - upper body

Day 2 - lower body

Day 3 - "cardio"

Day 4 - rest

Upper body

I do two to three sets of the following:

• standing dumbbell flies to the side x 15

• standing dumbbell flies at an angle x 15

• standing dumbbell flies to the front x 15

• face pulls, using elastic bands x 15

• lat rows, using elastic bands x 15

• pushups x 15

• 45-second plank

Substitute reverse planks for the exercises that require bands, if you don’t have bands.

Lower body

I've written a similar post on my other blog here. Here's the gist:

• Squat x 30

• Lunge (in place) x 15 (each leg, then switch, for 30 total lunges)

• Calf Raise x 15 (each leg, then switch, for 30 total)

• Standing Lateral Leg Raise x 15 (each leg, then switch, for 30 total)

• Standing Leg Adduction x 15 (each leg, then switch, for 30 total)

Cardio

I do two to three sets of the following

• 50 jumping jacks

• 5 minutes of shadow boxing

Rest day

Even though it's a rest day, I still try to do that warmup for a few cycles.

When to workout on lock down

For me, the best time to do these workouts is before my son wakes up, usually around 7:30 a.m. If I miss my window, I sometimes workout with him, right in the morning, before his breakfast. Because most of these exercises do not require equipment, he basically just runs around me while I workout. He particularly likes when I'm doing yoga poses, because he'll crawl through and around my legs. 

Bearhug from the little guy while I’m using the foam roller

When I can't seem to find 15-25 minutes to do a concentrated workout, I basically split it up throughout the day. I might have a few minutes in the morning to do my warm up. I might do a few squats in between meetings. I could do a few pushups on my way to fill up water. 

These days, my son and I are taking a lot more walks. The walks are probably more for me than they are for him! We walk around local parks and piers, as well as around our apartment building. If you're in an apartment building like me, trying taking the stairs a little more. If you live in a more suburban setting, try walking around the block a few minutes longer than usual.

Eventually, this lockdown will end. We want to be able to return to work without losing our breath every time we walk up a flight of stairs or get up to go to the bathroom! 

Stay active my friends! And stay safe!

Disclaimer

I’m just Tim the Dad. I’m not a medical professional, certified trainer, or physical therapist. Please consult all necessary professionals before taking my advice on anything!